Quantcast
Channel: America's Markets » taxes
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 22

Amazon to stop funneling some EU sales through Luxembourg

0
0

Under pressure from the European Union, Amazon has agreed to begin paying taxes in four European countries where it has large operations. Previously the company had booked European transactions through low-tax Luxembourg.

On May 1, Amazon began booking sales in the United Kingdom in the U.K. rather than Luxembourg, the company said.

Amazon.co.uk, the British wing of Amazon, had sent payments from purchases on its site there through its subsidiary in The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. That allowed it to pay much lower taxes than it would have if the payments had been taken in the United Kingdom.

In a statement, Amazon said, “We regularly review our business structure to ensure that we are able to best serve our customers and provide additional product and services. More than two years ago we began the process of establishing local country branches of Amazon EU Sarl, our primary retail operating company in Europe.”

Last year the United Kingdom’s Public Accounts Committee urged a boycott of Seattle-based Amazon, demanding that it pay its fair share of taxes.

The change is being rolled out in United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Spain, according to the company. It is working to open a branch in France.

The European Union has been investigating tech company tax practices.

The shift could affect other U.S. tech firms that do business in Europe. Lawmakers in the United Kingdom have pushed for a so-called “Google Tax” that would put a 25% tax on international companies that do business there but use complex accounting to lower their tax burdens.


Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 22

Latest Images

Trending Articles





Latest Images